Protein is a nutritional component that consumers often seek in dietary supplements. Among the numerous sources of protein, whey proteins have a high nutritive value, due at least in part to the compositional profile of the proteins that includes a balanced array of amino acids. As a result, whey proteins are recognized as an important protein source, particularly for individuals who are health conscious and have specific dietary needs, such as athletes and body builders. Generally, it may be desirable to provide as much protein as possible from whey proteins in a nutritional supplement food or beverage product. Additionally, it is often desirable that a beverage product including whey proteins has a low pH for purposes of stability.
A conventional method for making an acidified whey protein composition includes dry blending an acid with whey proteins. In such a process, a whey protein first is isolated and then spray dried. This dried whey protein isolate is then dry blended with an acid. However, these dry-blended acidified whey proteins often suffer from disadvantages. For example, such dry-blended acidified whey proteins may not have desirable taste characteristics—they are generally too astringent and too tart. The pH of these dry-blended acidified whey proteins can only be lowered so far before the astringency and tartness problems become too great. Thus, there is a need for acidified whey protein compositions that have desirable flavor, odor, tartness, and sweetness characteristics at lower pH values, while still providing a desired amount of whey protein.